Monthly Archives: July 2022
Try That With Your Real Ears . . .
I ended up not going into work today due to a reoccurrence of my BPPVertigo, bad enough that I didn’t want to try and drive. And the worse I’ve had in a couple of years.
Ended up mostly sleeping until the afternoon, until it mostly faded away. But as in the past, it leaves me kind of washed out.
But I should be pretty much back to normal tomorrow.
Hope so. I wouldn’t want to waste an off-day lying in bed.
I’ve had 4 or 5 people contact me for more information on my BeHear NOW Hearing Assistants.
I had originally bought them to see how much improvement they would give me, planning on returning them during the 30 day free trial before I looked at some of the more expensive ones. But this one works so well that I’m going to keep them.
They list for $249, but if you order them by August 1st and use the code ‘blowout80’ at checkout, there’s a $75 discount.
And no, I don’t get any kickback on these orders.
The last couple of weeks have been a real eye-opening experience for me, discovering all the things I can hear now that I couldn’t hear before.
Jan’s happy because she doesn’t have to keep telling me when the turn signal is still on, and that I don’t need the TV volume up nearly as high.
But sometimes it’s also nice to be able to turn them off.
Yesterday when we were having lunch at Snooze AM, it was getting close to the 2:30pm closing time, and they had the background music tuned to some kind of hip-hop/rap and turned up loud.
Irritatingly loud.
Enduring it for a minute or two, I reached up and turn my ears off. And the music faded off into the background.
Try that with your real ears.
Thought For The Day:
“… that he is incapable of staying on the river of a thought, and is constantly lured down tributaries from which he can never quite work his way back–you can see him batting the little paddles of his mind against the weeds, trying desperately to return to the river but not remembering where it is, or where it was going.”
July 27, 2011
Three in One Day . . .
This morning, our last full day here in Jackson, started at Bubba’s BBQ for breakfast. When Jan saw Blueberry Pancakes on the menu last night, it was a given that we’d be here again.
Then we headed about 25 miles north to Moose Junction. First we wanted to get our National Park Passports stamped at the Park Visitors Center and we also asked a Ranger about the best places to find more moose.
He told us that there had been one by the bridge we just crossed up the road, and also along Moose-Wilson Rd. So it looks like our idea of driving the Teton Park Road and the Moose-Wilson Road might work out.
We first turned north on the Teton Park Rd. that runs for 20 miles before it connects back with US-89 right before Moran Junction. We had some great views along the way, including these shots along Jenny Lake,
and this photo at our closest point to Grand Teton.
Along here we also did the 4 mile Jenny Lake Rd. loop, another good spot for wildlife, as evidenced by this sign. Since we’ve seen all three, I guess we’ve really been lucky.
Reaching the main highway we decided to drive the 4 miles back to Pilgrim Creek where we saw the moose yesterday. And we hit the jackpot again.
What were probably the same two moose were back, and much more visible than yesterday.
One of them was down in the water along the bank, munching on all the green goodies. Moose like willows and aspens, and both were in abundance here.
Because he wasn’t in the trees like yesterday we got some great shots.
Here you can see the 2nd moose further up in the trees.
After a few minutes, the moose moved on to where we couldn’t really see them anymore. Jan had noticed some people only about 30 feet from the moose and said “Those people are much too close.” And then she said “I bet they’re getting some great pictures. I want to go over there.”
But luckily, the Ranger showed up a few minutes later and started yelling at people to get away.
We did move further along the creek where we could see the moose again. And in another episode of “Where’s Bullwinkle?”, this is what my camera showed at 1X.
And this is at 72X. Quite a difference.
After the moose finally disappeared into the brush, we headed back down US-89 and turned into Moose Junction again to this time take the Moose-Wilson Rd south back down to Jackson.
And as we came to the bridge the Ranger had mentioned before, we encountered a moose-jam.
He was back!
And this time only about 50 yards away, so we got some great photos.
Finally dragging Jan away from the moose, we drove back into Jackson and out the other side to Snow King Mountain Resort so we could take the Scenic Chairlift.
In the winter it’s a ski-lift to the top of Snow King Mountain so you can take one of the several runs down the mountain, but in the summer it’s just a great sight-seeing trip.
It’s a 1500 foot climb to the 7800 foot top, and so steep you would be hard-pressed to walk straight up. However there are an number of zigzag trails leading to the top for hikers and horseback rides from the nearby stables.
And the route up is lined with snow-making machines just waiting for the temperature to fall.
Looking down at the ground under our feet, we saw a lot of shoes. Apparently losing them is almost a given.
For most of the trip we were about 50 to 70 feet off the ground. What’s kind of funny is that Jan has a fear of heights. It is very difficult for her to stand at a railing and look down. She had problems at both Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon.
But she has absolutely no problem dangling from a ski-lift chair. Go figure!
Getting to the top we had great views of the mountains and out across the Park.
Well worth the trip up.
And the trip down was even better, with great views of Jackson and the Elk Refuge beyond. I was hoping to see one of the elk herds from up here, but no luck.
And we even have a memento of our trip to the top. Someone needs to show them something about color correction on their photos. Mine look better.
And here’s what it looks like with a few minutes of work.
Leaving Snow King, we drove back into town to get gas for the trip home. One thing I’ve noticed here in Wyoming that I haven’t seen anywhere else is that the gas grades are different.
The price for unleaded was only $3.48, but instead of 87, 89, and 91 octane like everywhere else, the gas here in Wyoming all seems to be 85, 87, and 89 octane.
Anyone know why? My truck really doesn’t like 85 octane, especially at these high altitudes.
Next Jan wanted to shop one of the gift shops on the main street.
And which one did she pick? Well, the Moose on the Loose, of course.
Jan found a moose tee-shirt she really liked, but when she went to pay for it, something strange happen. Both our Wells Fargo and Chase VISA debit cards were declined. So I paid with cash.
I knew both accounts had plenty of money, and I had just used the Chase card to get gas a few minutes before, so after we left the store, I called Chase.
I got a nice young lady from India, not named Peggy luckily, who was very helpful. She said they log every transaction, even if they’re declined, and she showed the last one was the gas I had purchased. She didn’t show anything even coming thru, much less declined after that.
She said the store was probably having trouble with their merchant account, which would explain why both cards were declined.
Leaving the Loose Moose, we drove back to Bubba’s for supper.
Yeah, we ate there last night, and this morning, so let’s make it three in a row.
And here’s a little secret. We’ll probably eat breakfast there tomorrow on our way out of town. So there.
This is the sign of a good BBQ place, cords of oak wood stacked up next to the separate building housing their smoker.
And when I peeked in the door, they were unloading the beef briskets and taking them into the restaurant.
And you wonder why we keep eating here.
After dinner we stopped off at a nearby Maverik for Cappuccinos before heading back to the room for the night.
Tomorrow we’ll probably leave here about 9 am for the 177 mile trip back to Cody.
And if Jan has her way, we’ll probably be making a quick stop at Pilgrim Creek for another moose sighting.
Hopefully this will get it out of her system for a while.
Thought for the Day:
“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history, when everybody stands around reloading.”
Leaving The Soo
July 27, 2013
Bridges and Parades . . .
Lucky for us the predicted all-night rain didn’t show up, so the grass under our rig had a chance to dry. And when it came time to back out of our site a little after 9am, we got out OK.
Before we left the Soo, we wanted to get some diesel, but taking the most direct way to the Interstate and our station took us up a steep hill with a traffic light at the bottom. If I could be sure that I could take the hill without stopping at the light, it wouldn’t be a problem. But if I got a red light it would be slow going up the hill, doable, but slow. Maybe that’s why the signs say ‘No Vehicles Over 5 Tons’.
Could be.
So I had mapped out a new route that looked like it would work, and it did. The hill along that way was much shallower, and had no light at the bottom. The day was off to a good start.
And at the station it just got better. Diesel had dropped 2 cents a gallon since yesterday. The pumps were no-limit pump and pay, and had the big nozzles for a fast fill. It just kept getting better.
After topping off our tank, we got hitched up and got on I-75S heading for Manistee, MI, and the Little River Casino about 220 miles away. But then things started to go a little awry.
The heavily overcast skies started leaking all over our windshield, and pretty much kept it up all the rest of the trip. It never came down hard, but it did keep the wipers busy.
50 miles down the road and $14 from my wallet, we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, a first time for us. And it took us a while because we did it at 20mph.
The speed limit on the bridge is 45 mph, but it’s also 20 mph for Loaded Trucks. And then there’s the sign that says “Truck/Buses No Passing”. I always wonder about signs like this. I’m definitely not a truck, and I’m not a bus. But I am bus-like, or maybe bus-lite?, so where do I stand?
Anyway, I ended up behind a “Loaded Truck”, and there was so much traffic passing us at 45 (or faster) that I would have had a real problem getting out and around him. So there I stayed.
One thing I thought was funny is that apparently some people don’t like to drive on the open grating on the bridge deck. The way it’s built, the inside lane is grating, but the outside is concrete. A number of cars stayed with us behind the 20mph truck all the way across, but as soon as both lanes were concrete, they zipped out and around, and were gone.
A couple of miles off the bridge we turned west on US-31 to take the the scenic way down the lake. And it was really good that it was scenic because, between the rain, the numerous construction zones, the multiple small towns with 25mph speed limits, the parade, and the street fair, we had plenty of time to see it all.
Another thing interesting about being on US-31 is that it begins where we got on it here off of I-75 and runs all the way down to Mobile, AL, and as it passes through Athens, AL, it runs right through the middle of our family farm there.
We arrived at the Little River Casino about 4pm, and for a change, had no problem finding the RV park there. Believe it or not, they actually had signs leading us to it.
Since we’d been parked for a week with no sewer connection, before we parked at our site, we stopped off at the dump station. Our site is 50 amp and water, again with no sewer, but we’ll have it tomorrow in Elkhart.
We had leftovers for supper, but we’re going to head over to the casino tomorrow morning for the breakfast buffet before we leave. YUM.
Tomorrow we’ve got a 220 mile trip to Elkhart where we’ll be for a week, checking out all our favorite restaurants and places. We’re really looking forward to being back in Elkhart again.
July 27, 2014
What Has the Navy Not Been Telling Us . . .
So maybe it wasn’t so long, long ago and far, far away after all.
Saw something really interesting on a TV ad today for the new upcoming Amazon Fire Phone. You know how the Shazam app can listen to a song and tell you the name and the singer? Well, the Fire phone can do that for movies.
The ad shows two guys arguing over what movie they’re watching in an airport. A kid pops up behind them, takes a photo of the TV screen with his Fire phone, and the app tells him what the movie is.
WOW!
We had planned a nice do-nothing day today mainly because of all the really bad weather we were expecting. But the rain didn’t show up until about 8pm this evening, so it was still a very nice day.
For lunch, Jan fixed herself a Pimento Cheese and Tomato Sandwich, while I fixed me a CBT. That’s a Cheese, Bacon, and Tomato. Then later for supper, Jan whipped up a big batch of her delicious Chicken Rice-A-Roni. She adds a lot of extra stuff to it and it’s really good. And we have enough left for another meal.
Our friends Chris and Charles Yust have been in Alaska for the last few months. A couple of days ago they posted an article on Facebook about the White Pass Yukon railway train. This past Wednesday, the 24th, the White Pass Yukon train derailed with a load of 360 passengers.
I’m not quite sure where the crash occurred. One article says it happened just inside Canada, and the other says just back inside Alaska. 19 passengers and 4 crew members were listed as injured.
We took this train back in September 2008 while we were visiting Skagway with our friends Al and Adrienne, on our way back from Fairbanks. I guess if it had to happen, it was better where it did happen rather than along here.
______________________________________
I’m still trying to figure out this ad I saw on Amazon.
Is the $1395 for a diamond encrusted one or is this for a thousand of them. I went all through the different selections of sizes and colors and never got a price of $1395.
Finally I saw these photos on Facebook of a vinyl wrap job on an RV. Here’s the before:
And here’s the after:
I’m not real crazy about the chosen color scheme, but I am interested in the vinyl wrap idea. I’ve seen it used on some of the RV upgrade shows and the cost seems to run about a third to half of what a good paint job would be, I.e. $5000 to $7000 for the vinyl.
Anyone out there have any experience with this?
_________________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
More Memphis ‘Q’
July 27, 2015
And the Winner is . . .
Jan and I headed out about 1:15pm to see a movie and finish up our trifecta of famous Memphis BBQ places. Along the way we made a PO stop to drop off some letters right before we got to the theater, the same one where we saw Jurassic World the other day.
We were looking forward to seeing the Minions because we really liked both Despicable Me moves, and the Minions were part of some of the funniest bits. But although we both really liked this movie, it did not live up to the Despicable ones.
It’s like the Minions are great supporting actors, but can’t carry a film by themselves.
Recommended, but not Well Recommended.
But the popcorn was really good and fresh.
Leaving the movie, we made the 20 minute drive further into town to have dinner at The Bar-B-Q Shop, one of Food Network’s Top Five BBQ Restaurants in the US. Each one of the five specializes in a different type of BBQ. In The Bar-B-Q Shop’s case, it’s for the ribs.
So following that, I had the Ribs and Pork, with Beans and Cole Slaw,
while Jan went with the Ribs and Grilled Chicken Breast, also with the Beans and Cole Slaw.
We both got our ribs 1/2 and 1/2, that is, half wet with sauce, and half dry with rub sprinkled on.
So what do we think?
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve eaten at three high-rated BBQ places in the Memphis area.
and of course, today’s
And in all three, at least one of us had the same things.
Ribs
Pulled Pork
Beans
Cole Slaw
So I’m going to rate each category.
First up, the ribs.
I’ll have to disagree with Food Network here.
The best ribs were at Rendezvous. The crust on them is delicious, and they just burst with flavor when you bite into them. These don’t need any sauce.
Second was Jim and Nick’s. These large, meaty spare ribs were moist and favorable, with a really good, tangy sauce.
Third was The Bar-B-Q Shop. These baby back ribs were very meaty, but the meat and the sauce and/or the rub, didn’t have a lot of flavor to me. Just bland, with a so-so sauce. We asked for some of their fabled ‘HOT” sauce, and again I was disappointed. Although it was hot, to me it had a chemical or plastic taste. Jan liked it though.
Next up, pulled pork.
Jim and Nick’s is the winner here. Very flavorful meat, firm, not mushy, with a good mix of lean and outside char. And of course, there’s their great sauce.
In second place is Rendezvous. Good flavor, but a little too finely chopped for my taste.
Coming up in last place again is The Bar-B-Q Shop. The chop was OK, but again like the ribs, not a lot of flavor,. I actually sprinkled some salt and pepper on it which helped a little.
Now for the Beans.
Once again, Rendezvous is in first place here. As said last Saturday after our visit, these are probably the best baked beans I’ve every eaten. The subtle taste of burnt caramel in the sauce puts these over the top.
Jim and Nick’s again slides into second place here with beans that are really done well, just a perfect balance of sauce, tanginess, and beans.
And again coming in third is The Bar-B-Q Shop. Again,, no real standout taste, . . . just beans.
And last up, Cole Slaw.
The winner here is Jim and Nick’s, but just by a nose. Very good, tangy flavor with a coarse cut that you can really bite into.
Coming in second here is The Bar-B-Q Shop. If the Cole slaw had had the same coarse chop as Jim and Nick’s, it would have been a tie.
This time Rendezvous comes in third. Although very tasty, it was so finely chopped as to be almost mushy, like baby food.
There you have it. My take on Memphis BBQ, at least from the places we ate at. On the whole I was very disappointed with The Bar-B-Q Shop. I remember them being much better than this when we ate here 5 years ago. So I don’t know if they were having a bad night, or I was. Or as happens sometimes after a place gets a little fame, the quality starts to suffer.
I think Jan disagrees with me on some of these, so I’ll post her ratings tomorrow.
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
July 27, 2016
WOW . . . 462 !
Jan and I were up and on the road by 11am this morning, making the 2 hour trip down to the Clear Lake area, to meet up with our son Chris, our DIL Linda, and our GD Piper.
Although it was pretty overcast and threatening rain most of the way, it stayed dry and cool with temps in the 80’s.
About 15 minutes out Jan called Chris to see if we were meeting at Chris’ or at whatever restaurant they had picked out. Which, to our pleasant surprise, turned out to be the new Grimaldi’s Pizzeria at Baybrook Mall.
Piper really knows Grimaldi’s since she and Brandi were with us in 2009 when we first ate at a Grimaldi’s, the original, and only one then, in the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area of Brooklyn, NY.
In fact the bridge runs almost directly overhead.
After our great meal, we went back over to Chris and Linda’s to pick up our mail, and also check out Piper’s new (to her) car.
A few weeks back she was making a U-turn and fell into a pothole, hitting something else, and pretty much ripping part of her front suspension completely off. All without even setting off the airbags.
So she now has a 2012 Nissan Xterra.
She’s still enjoying her apartment in Galveston, close enough to her job at U.T.M.B. Hospital that she was able to ride her bike to work for the time she was between vehicles.
After getting our goodbye hugs, it was on to the local Kroger’s for a few things, as well as gas for the truck at $1.89/gallon. Not bad.
Next up was a quick Target stop for a couple of more things, and then a pair of Cinnamon Dolce Lattes for the road from the Starbuck’s in the parking lot.
They’ve got the new Bay Area Blvd/I-45 underpass open now so it was a quick ramp onto I-45 north. Luckily we were running just ahead off the going-home traffic, so we didn’t hit any slowdowns until we were out on the Katy Freeway. And a quick dodge onto the HOV lane kept us moving along.
We checked in with Brandi, but didn’t stop for a couple of reasons. First she was under the weather and had come home a little early, and second, the Amazon stuff we were expecting today, apparently wasn’t coming in until tomorrow. So we rescheduled our get-together until Friday evening.
After a coffee-disposal stop at the Flying J in Brookshire, we got home about 5:45 to a noisy, upset Karma who repeatedly informed us that we were about an hour late in feeding her.
Now that we’re getting back on the road in a few days, we’ve both got a bad case of Hitch-Itch. In fact we’re already starting to map our travels for 2017.
Of course, after our upcoming two plus week Alabama jaunt, our next up adventure will hopefully be another 3 month stint at gate guarding for the 5th year in a row.
Two weeks ago the US Rig Count was at 440. But today the count was at 462, another big jump. So if we’re lucky that will mean more gate guard jobs, or at least one for us.
Of course I remember a couple of years ago when the rig count was around 2000, and God willing, we’re heading back in that direction again.
Beaux Bridge, LA
July 27, 2017
Life Is Prickly . . .
Yesterday afternoon when we got back from dinner, I noticed that I had some fluid leaking down from under the engine, but since it was getting dark I decided to wait until this morning to take a look at it.
Turned out to be the hydraulic fan motor that came loose about a month ago while we were in Pauls Valley, OK visiting our son-in-law Lowell’s parents.
The nuts on the two bolts that hold the hydraulic motor to the bracket had come loose, letting the motor just flail around. I was able to replace the bottom nut but cannot reach the top one. Spartan said to use an 7/16-14 nut, a serrated lock washer and two flat washers. Well, all the local hardware store had was a self-locking nut and no serrated washers that would fit.
But it looks like the self-locking nut didn’t stay locked, and although it wasn’t completely loose like last time, but it was loose enough to wiggle slightly. So using my cheater pipe I really tightened it back down.
Once we’re in Athens I’ll try to get the right nuts and washers. But what I really need to do is figure out how to replace the top nut too. It looks like I need a short guy with really long arms. Actually sounds like a chimp.
We really like this park, which is laid out around several fishing lakes. Very scenic.
Very nice, and it’s Passport American too.
We were pulling out of our site here at Poche’s Fish-N-Camp by 10am, but it took almost 15 minutes to get out of the park due to the really atrocious roads. They were just repaved a couple of years ago. But now they look like this.
The reason for this is that they just spread dirt over the old pavement , and then paved on top of that. And the above is the result.
The dirt washes out underneath and then the pavement collapses, especially under heavy weights like RV’s.
And unfortunately this seems to be the same thing that they’re getting ready to do at the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails. When we left they were spreading dirt out on the roads, and we were told they were going to repave.
If so, I expect the newly paved roads at Lake Conroe to look exactly like the ones at Poche’s in a couple of years. If you don’t dig down to a firm base, lay down a gravel bed, and then pave over that, it will never hold up.
Our 240 mile trip was pretty uneventful, with only the usual mess going through Baton Rouge, and a few minutes of heavy rain as we crossed into Alabama. Our AC’s kept the coach nice and cool, so I think I can declare the problem fixed, and my deflector vanes on the roof AC cover a success.
We pulled into Payne’s RV Park about 3pm, paid our $20 Passport America fee and got parked in our 50amp FHU site. Nice!
About 4pm we headed out to have dinner at Sonny’s BBQ, about 15 miles away. We’ve been eating at Sonny’s for a long time. In fact as I reminded Jan, the Sonny’s BBQ in the Titusville, FL area was where we went a number of times while we were dating. So we’ve been eating at one for more than 50 years!
Scary thought.
As with our other long-time favorite places, we went with our usuals. Jan got the large sliced pork sandwich, with fries and BBQ beans,
while I got my favorite Pork 3 Ways Platter with Ribs, Pulled Pork, Sliced Pork, BBQ Beans and Corn on the Cob. And I had leftovers.
Kimberly, our server, took great care of us and never let my iced tea glass get empty.
Great Service.
Tomorrow’s a short travel day, only about 190 miles up to the Capitol City RV Park in Montgomery for a couple of days where we’ll catch up with friends we haven’t seen a while.
July 27, 2019
Found it!
Back on my repair list, I spent the morning looking at my dead bedroom ceiling lights. As it turns out the two ceiling fixtures are the only ones left in the rig still using the original fluorescent bulbs. All the rest have been updated with these 12 volt LED strip lights.
They put out slightly more light than the fluorescent tubes, at 30,000 hours they last longer, and at $10 for 6, they’re a lot cheaper.
In this case, since both fixtures were dead I figured it was the power feeding them, so I first checked the fuse, again. I had checked before, but I wanted to start from scratch again.
With the fuse good, I next checked the wall switch, thinking it was now likely, but I had 12 volts entering and leaving the switch. So I pulled the cover off one of the fixtures, and had 12 volts there. And 12 volts at the other one too.
WTH?
I knew that both sets of bulbs were on their last legs, and it looks like they all gave up at the same time. I’ve got some more LED strips packed away so I’ll dig them out and put them in place.
About 2pm I made a trip over to our storeroom, with a detour by Yummy Yummy’s for lunch, to see if I had another dryer blower motor in my parts box. And I did.
It almost looks like it’s brand new. I’ll pull the washer back out tomorrow and put it in place.
Thought for the Day:
“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history, when everybody stands around reloading.”
How Long Can You Tread Water?
Somehow I missed this yesterday, but 43 years ago, on July 25, 1979, Tropical Storm Claudette visited Alvin, TX and stayed for a while. And in the next 24 hours dropped 43” of rain on the small town, a U.S. record to this day.
We do it bigger in Texas.
At the time I was working at Johnson Space Center for a NASA contractor on the Space Shuttle, and as was usual for me, I was working the night shift and going into work at 11:30.
FWIW night shift is always my favorite shift for a number of reasons and I try to work it whenever possible.
1. It usually pays more, with a shift differential.
2. It’s easier finding a parking space.
3. It’s cooler here in Texas.
4. No bosses hovering around so you can actually get some work done.
So a little before 11pm I headed into work in our 1970 AMC Ambassador Station Wagon like this.
We bought it when were traveling around the country to different military bases while I was working for the DOD. It was set up with the heavy-duty suspension, the towing package and lift bags in the rear springs. It was also our first car with AC.
And it rode pretty high.
Anyway, it had been raining all day at our house, and as I backed down our driveway, the water was almost up over the curb, but the center of the road was open so I didn’t expect any problems. At least until I got to the end of the block and turned onto the main street leaving the subdivision.
Then looking through the rain coming down, and at the far end of my headlights, I could see some sort of wall out there.
And it was getting closer.
I quickly realized it was actually a 2+ high foot wave of water sweeping through our subdivision. Knowing I didn’t have time to turn around, I put the car in reverse and backed up down the street and into our driveway. And though some of the water spread out down our way, most of it stayed out on the main street, flooding a lot of the lower elevation houses.
In our case, when we picked out our house, I picked the one with the highest elevation that I could find. And it stood us in good stead. With all the rain over the next hours, the water only got about halfway up our yard. Unlike a number of our less-fortunate neighbors.
Getting back in the house, I called work and told Bob Squires I wasn’t going to be able to make it in to work tonight. He laughed and said that it was OK. They already knew they weren’t going to be able to get home either.
Jan and I left the rig a little after noon, on our way up to Webster for my Physical Therapy session at the Houston Physicians’ Hospital, the same place I had my Cervical Spine Fusion back last November. We should have had plenty time to make my 1pm appointment, but a bad wreck on I-45 had traffic backed up for 3 miles. So instead of getting there about 20 minutes early, I was about 5 minutes late. But I had called to let them know, so they took me in as soon as I got there.
Well, as soon as they got my $20 co-pay.
We went through the 8 exercises that I had been doing, and then Jennifer gave me a couple of more that I will do standing.
When I got there, someone was already on the elliptical exercise bike, so Jennifer said I would do it at the end after we were done.
I had already told her about not wanting to do a full 10 minutes on it like last time and she said no problem.
So I just did 5 minutes this time. And I don’t know if it was the fact that I only did 5 minutes, or that the exercises I’ve been doing for the last week are showing some improvement, but I wasn’t wiped out like last time.
Finished up, we drove over to the nearby Snooze AM for lunch/breakfast.
Jan got her usual fave, the Bravocado Toast.
I went with something I’ve had before, but not in a good while, the Shrimp and Grits.
Cheesy Grits, with Sautéed Shrimp, Andouille sausage, a spicy soffrito sauce, and topped with a sunny-side-up egg.
And as usual, we shared an order of their Maple Bacon.
A great meal as usual.
Our next stop was at Kroger to pick up a prescription for Jan, but their was a sign on the window saying their system? was down, and to check back in an hour. That’s what tomorrow is for.
Our next, and last stop, was at the Costco for a few things, and then it was home for the afternoon.
Another nice day.
Thought For The Day:
There is a big difference between a QUIET woman and a SILENT woman.
The first one is a miracle. The second one is a time bomb.
(In my defense, Jan thought this was funny.)
Cody, Yellowstone, Tetons, and Moose
July 26, 2011
What do you see in this picture ?
We headed out on our overnight trip this morning, leaving a little after 8 am. Our first stop was Peter’s Coffee in downtown Cody for coffee and a breakfast roll, then a quick stop on the way out of town for gas.
Very quickly we were back in the same beautiful vistas we saw last Friday when we did Yellowstone with our friends Al and Adrienne. But it’s hard to get too much of these views.
Although we were heading for Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park, we decided to backtrack up past Old Faithful to see the Paint Pots and some of the other geysers.
As we came back by the same place we saw the grizzly last week we slowed down to check things out. Unfortunately, no grizzly, but right down the road we did see this female elk out in the brush.
Our first stop in Yellowstone was the Fountain Paint Pot area. There is a boardwalk that makes a 1/2 mile loop out and back so it’s an easy walk.
It’s really hard to describe the Paint Pots. Some of it looks like the surface of the moon.
Well, if the moon had trees.
Some of it looks like the bowels of Hades.
Some of it is very beautiful.
And some of it looks like all three.
But however you want to describe it, it’s not to be missed.
Our next stop was right down the road at the Midway Geyser Basin. A bridge from the parking lot takes you across the Firehole River ( apt name, don’t you think.) and out into the Basin.
The runoff from the geysers flows into the river and keeps it warm. In fact warm enough to be comfortable for swimming when there’s snow on the ground in the dead of winter.
I’ll let the rest of the photos tell the story.
By this time it was about 1 pm and we were getting hungry. So heading back to Old Faithful Village we decided to have lunch at the Old Faithful Inn where we ate last Friday. We didn’t have the buffet this time, but we definitely wanted some more of the bison chili. In fact we split a BLT (Well, Jan had a BT because she doesn’t like lettuce on sandwiches. Salads yes, sandwiches, no.) so we would have room for the chili.
Leaving Old Faithful and heading south once again we came across another female elk. So we’re two for two on elk today.
Down the road a ways we stopped to check out Lewis Falls, a very pretty sight.
As we finally got into Grand Teton National Park we started paralleling Jackson Lake that runs for about 20 miles along the roadway.
What do you see in the middle of this picture? I’ll bet you don’t see two large bull moose.
But they’re there.
Jan’s Holy Grail!
What she’s been looking for since we hit the road for this year this past February.
What we made a special trip down to Grand Teton National Park for when she heard there might be some down here.
.
We were able to get as close as about 50 feet since they were in heavy brush. There was a Ranger there keeping everyone from getting too close. Otherwise SOME people would have been trying to pet them.
We watched them for about 20 minutes before they disappeared deeper into the brush and we lost sight of them.
Jan said this made the whole trip worthwhile.
Hey, if she’s happy, I’m happy.
Getting closer to Jackson we came across this group of bison who had knocked down the fence and were almost out into the highway.
There was a Ranger there too, keeping people back.
Man, these Rangers are real party-poopers.
Arriving in Jackson a little after 6 pm and getting safely ensconced in our Motel 6 room, (very nice, by the way) we heading out to get some dinner.
We had noticed a place called Bubba’s BBQ on the way in and decided to give a try.
It was easy to see why we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. Boy, was it good.
So good, in fact, we’re going back for breakfast.
July 26, 2013
Last Day in The Soo . . .
First up, some follow-up info on yesterday’s visit to Mackinac Island.
Since there are no private motor vehicles allowed on the island, horses (and bikes) are everywhere, and their by-products, of course. Well, not the bikes.
According to our carriage tour guide, there are about 550 horses on the island at any one time. Contrast this with there being only about 500 full-time residents. Another interesting fact is that for those 500 residents, there is only one doctor. But the 550 horses had THREE veterinarians. Shows you who’s the most important there.
Plus the fact that the horses don’t even have to spend the winter on the island. At the end of the season they all get a ferry ride to the mainland and then spend the winter on a 2000 acre horse farm up near Pickford, MI, which is about half way between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. Must be nice.
Due to the Lake Snow Effect, supposedly Mackinac Island gets about 40 feet of snow a season. Seems like a lot. I guess I wouldn’t want to spend the winter there either.
They have three main breeds of horses: Percherons, Belgians, and a Percheron/Belgian cross, called a Bay. In the photo below, the two black horses are Percherons, and the brown one is a Bay.
Someone asked our tour guide why they don’t use Clydesdale’s. Our guide said that Clydesdales are really show horses, and their ankles are really too weak to work as real draft horses, and said it would take 4 or more Clydesdales to pull the same weight as two Percherons.
She then said “That’s why they use them to haul “light’ beer.
Bah-dump-bump!
We woke up this morning to heavily-overcast skies and the promise of later rain.
Oh Boy!
Sure glad we didn’t wait until today to visit Mackinaw Island.
About 3pm Jan and I headed out for Wal-Mart and dinner at China Cate, the Chinese restaurant we ate at last Saturday, right after we got here.
It started a light rain as we left the rig, but while we were in Wal-Mart the bottom fell out. We could hear the rain coming down heavy on the roof. And then my pocket started going “BEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEP!”
And then I could hear other alarms faintly all around me.
Turns out it was a weather alert coming in on everyone’s phone. A tornado had been spotted somewhere west of us, over around Newberry, and was supposedly headed our way. All during this the rain just came down harder. It had slacked off somewhat by the time we had finished at Wal-Mart, but we still had to make a run to the truck.
We were sure glad to get some of that Hot & Sour Soup into us. And as before our meal was really good, approaching that of our fabled King Food back home.
By the time we got home the rain had pretty much slacked off, hopefully for the rest of the night. Otherwise we may have trouble getting out of here tomorrow.
We’re parked on grass and headed downhill so we’ll have to back out of here. We’ll see how it goes.
Tomorrow we’re heading south about 220 miles to spend one night at the Little Rivers Casino near Manistee, MI, before heading on to Elkhart, IN on Sunday.
Wilmington, OH
July 26, 2014
Lego my Queso . . .
Since it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, we headed out about 1pm to the Caesar Creek Flea Market right down the road. With almost 160,000 sq. ft. of indoor space, it’s one of the largest flea markets in the Midwest.
In addition, they’ve got over 500 outside vendor spaces too, selling your more typical flea market stuff, used bikes, dishes, crafts, and old tools.
The inside vendors are more like your typical stores, with new merchandise, as well as antiques.
They did have one area set up with a very large Lego exhibit, showing what can be done with these little blocks.
We spent about an hour checking out the outside vendors first, as a number of them were starting to pack up due to the heat, and incoming T-storms.
Then it was inside to the nice, cool AC, and row after row of pretty much everything from tires to ATV’s to old books. It took us another couple of hours to check out all the inside vendors. But after all that Jan only bought some small cars for Landon. But we had a good time even so.
Leaving the flea market and heading into Wilmington proper, we stopped by the Post Office to mail some letters before deciding on El Dorado Mexican Restaurant for dinner.
The lady that cut Jan’s hair the other day said it was really good and Yelp gave it 4-1/2 stars so we thought we’d give it a chance. And we’re glad we did.
We were both really happy with what we had.
Jan had the Pollo Loco platter.
And I had the Chili Verde. My Verde (green) sauce was really good, and really spicy.
Even the chips and salsa, and the cheese dip were excellent.
FYI Here up north they call it ‘cheese dip’. In Texas we call it Queso. But if they take their ‘cheese dip’ and put meat in it (usually chorizo), then it sudden becomes Queso Fundido. Which is the same thing we call that in Texas.
We’ll go back.
Our daughter Brandi sent over this photo of a friend’s two kids that came over to play with Landon. The photo’s not too good because there was too much light from the windows behind them. But I thought it was hilarious how they’re playing together. Look what’s propped up in from of the them.
Tomorrow looks to be a stay home day with some really bad weather rolling through, leading to our next cool front Monday and Tuesday with highs in low 70’s and lows in the low 50’s for two or three days. Nice.
Still At Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails
July 26, 2015
Make Up Your Mind . . .
When we first got here last Sunday, I was happy to see 3 bars of 3G on my Verizon air card. But, unfortunately, it was not to last.
A couple of days later, I was crawling along the Internet with 1 bar of 1X. I didn’t realize there still was 1X around. But since it is, the hills of Tennessee is probably the place for it.
Do I hear banjos?
I’m not sure what Verizon is doing around here, but my signal is all over the place. Right now, a little before midnight, I have 4 bars of 3G. While 30 minutes ago, I had 1 bar of 1X again.
Make up your mind. Find a speed and stick to it.
For dinner tonight Jan whipped up one of her great Taco Salads, using ground beef she cooked earlier, and then vacuum-sealed and froze.
What she usually does is buy one of those big packs of ground beef and then take the electric skillet outside and cook it all up, That way it’s always available for a quick meal, and it doesn’t smell up the rig.
Tomorrow looks to be another movie/dinner/shopping trip
First up is the Minion’s movie at the same theater we saw Jurassic World this past Friday. Jan and I both enjoyed the two Despicable Me movies, and the Minions turned out to be the breakout stars, so now they get their own movie.
Next up is a return visit to The Bar-B-Q Shop. We first ate here in 2010 and really enjoyed it, but since then we’ve always come through Memphis on a day when it’s closed. So we’re really looking forward to eating there again tomorrow.
But even better, just a couple of months ago the Food Network did a series on the Top Five Restaurants in the US in six different categories: burgers, steak, pizza, tacos, barbecue and ice cream. And we were really surprised to see the one on the Top Five BBQ Restaurants in the US .
As it turns out, we’ve eaten at two of them, and will check out the 3rd next month.
Killen’s Barbecue
3613 E Broadway St, Pearland, TX 77581
The Bar-B-Q Shop
1782 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Skylight Inn
4618 S Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
1715 6th Avenue SE, Decatur, AL 35601
Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
3002 W 47th St, Kansas City, KS 66103
Of course The Bar-B-Q Shop is on the schedule for tomorrow, and we’ve eaten at Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, AL a number of times, and will eat there again next week when we’re visiting relatives in Athens, AL.
Killen’s in Pearland will be on our list for next month when we’re back in Houston. It’s apparently opened in the last couple of years, and it’s been a while since we’ve been over there. But we’ll certainly check it out..
And since we plan on doing the East Coast next year, maybe we’ll able to try the Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC on the way up the coast.
But Joe’s in Kansas City will have to wait until we finally do Kansas, because along with Nebraska, it’s one of the two states we haven’t done yet. But there’s always year after next.
Then coming home tomorrow we’ll probably make another Wal-Mart stop since Jan discovered they still had stuff left after our visit last Friday.
Colorado River Thousand Trails, Columbus, TX
July 26, 2016
Tires and Taco Salad . . .
When I got up this morning, I thought it was still nighttime. It had rain off and on thought the night, and was still pretty much black outside when I came out of the bedroom.
And it was 75 degrees. Very nice.
Later in the morning, in between raindrops, I went outside to check the rig’s tire pressures. I had last checked it two months ago right before we left here for Lake Conroe. Normally I check them once a month, but we’ve been parked here for almost 6 weeks so it still works out.
And in checking the pressures, once again I was amazed at how well this Hercules Ironman tires hold air. Each tire was within a pound of 96 pounds. I normally keep them all at 100#, but the last time I measured them at that pressure, it was 95 degrees. So 96# at 75 degrees is just about perfect.
Although a lot of rainy circled all around us, it never rained very heavy for very long. But the nicest part was that the high temperature for the day here was 82 degrees.
Amazing!
For dinner tonight Jan fixed up one of her delicious Taco Salads. She cooked up a pound of ground chuck with some onions, added fresh sliced jalapenos, and along with salad greens, sliced cherry tomatoes, black beans, and shredded cheese, layered it all over a bed of chips and topped it off with Salsa.
Really, really good.
And of course we had some of last night’s Pineapple Angel Food Cake for dessert.
Tomorrow we’ll leave her about 11am for the drive down to the Clear Lake area to have lunch with our son Chris and DIL Linda. And hopefully Miss Piper too.
Then on the way back we’ll probably stop in to say Hi at Brandi, Lowell, and Landon’s for a few minutes.+
On Our Way To Alabama
July 26, 2017
It Really Works!
With a 300+ mile trip in front of us today, we were up about 6:30am and pulling out of our site at Colorado River a little before 9, with our first stop right down the road at the
Colorado County Oil Co to fill up with diesel at $2.14 a gallon for 122 gallons.
Jan had followed me in the truck, so we hitched up while we were filling up, and were on our way about 9:30. We would have probably left even earlier, but it’s a fine line between leaving early and leaving so early that we run into Houston traffic since we were going through downtown Houston and out the other side.
But apparently we timed it just fine because we held 60mph all the way through town except for a couple of short slowdowns. Coming out the other side and into Baytown we made a breakfast stop at the Buc-ee’s there.
After stocking up on both breakfast and sweet kolaches and a couple of their great Orange Cranberry muffins we were back on the road with our next planned stop at the rest area as we entered Louisiana.
Since it was under reconstruction last year when we came through, I checked the state website which said it was now open. They were WRONG.
It wasn’t even close. In fact it was completely torn up, but we found a nearby pullout for our potty break.
We took the Breaux Bridge exit and pulled into the Poche’s Fish ‘N Camp RV Park about 4pm. After getting everything set up except for satellite we headed out to have dinner at Pont Breaux (nee Mulate’s).
Under the Mulate’s name, we’ve eaten here for more than 30 years until the family sold it in 2011 after their mother, the founder, died.
Jan got a cup of Seafood Gumbo, and an order of Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce,
while I got my usual bowl of Seafood Gumbo
which comes with potato salad and bread.
And of course we couldn’t leave with finishing up with their bread pudding with whiskey sauce, and a cup of Community Club coffee with Chicory.
A great meal.
On the rig AC front, it turns out that my recent air deflector install really worked after all. And it was working the other day too. Or at least it would have if we hadn’t been streaming 95° air right into the coach.
Turns out the dash air vent had popped off the Recirculate setting so just hot air was coming in. Now I always keep those vents turned off on my side anyway, and Jan just had hers on her feet so she really didn’t notice it at the time either.
We did discover the problem on our trip over from Lake Conroe this past Sunday and turned it off, but then the generator stopped when we got too low on diesel, so we never got to see it that was the problem.
But having it turned off today fixed the problem and we were cool the whole way.
Tomorrow we’ve got about a 240 mile run to Theodore, AL, so not quite as long a day.
Nice.
July 26, 2018 Uncategorized
An Old House and A New House . . .
I was back at work today, not a normal Thursday for me, but I was helping to cover for my client who was taking some CE courses today and tomorrow.
I did sneak out around 12:30 to meet up with the last scheduled potential buyer who’s looking at the house. Got some nice ideas from him on how to proceed, and he’s going to get back with me on his proposal.
Hopefully we’ll be able to have all the info and make a decision later this weekend.
After I got home about 4:15 Jan and I headed right back out to have dinner at Pho 20 once again, our first visit since we got back from our trip.
Jan had her now-usual Teriyaki Chicken, starting with the House Crunch Salad.
While I got my usual White Chicken Meat Pho and a couple of Shrimp Spring Rolls.
All delicious as usual, and as usual, Sherry, the owner, sent us home with more food than we ordered. While we’re eating, she’s always in the kitchen whipping up some special dishes for us to take home. And she also sent Jan home with a big box of blueberries and half a dozen tomatoes still on the vine.
When I mentioned my new Digital Voltage/Amp Meters,
I forgot to tell you how inexpensive they are at only $17.00 each. A real deal.
Looks like I will be getting a new GPS in the near future. I got my replacement Charger Cord in today, but it didn’t fix the problem. The GPS works just fine on the battery, but it will not run on the 12v charger, which means, I guess, that there is a problem in the internal power circuitry in the unit. So I get a new GPS. Yah!
Brandi, Lowell, and Landon have a new WOW house. At least according to Jan. She always called their old house, a WOW house, and it really was.
They sold that house last December, because they wanted something a little smaller than the almost 4000 sq.ft. one they had, and, more importantly, they wanted a much bigger backyard, big enough for a pool. They have been renting since they sold and had said they were going to start looking for something new in the fall.
But in a surprise announcement, they bought a new home today, and it looks like they got what they wanted . . . in spades.
WOW!
And yes, the present owner really likes RED.
The house is about 1000 sq. ft. smaller than they had before, and they certainly got a larger backyard. With the lot at over 11,000 sq.ft., there’s room enough for several pools, not just the one the place comes with.
As it stands right now, and assuming the inspection goes OK, they’ll close on August 31st.
And Brandi’s already invited us to Thanksgiving at the new house.
Really looking forward to it.
More Chores
July 26, 2019
Wash Day Blues . . .
As I mentioned, I have a chore list of stuff to do while Jan is gone, and at the top of the list was to get the dryer working again. It quit right before we left for Europe, and with my recent ‘under the weather’ phase, and the problem at work, I’m just getting around to fixing it.
The reason I was able to let it slip for a while is that the park’s laundry is just two sites away. So I had some breathing room
So the first thing I did was get my washer dolly out of the bays and then pulled the washer out onto it until I could get the top off.
A while back I had configured the hoses so that I could partially remove the washer from the cabinet and get the lid off, since that’s usually where most problems are.
Since everything worked fine except no heat from the dryer, I figured it was the Thermal Overheat Fuse like a couple of times before.
A fuse of the correct temp is no longer available, and the replacements I found on Amazon aren’t quite the right temp rating so they only last a couple of years. But when I checked the fuse it was still good, as was the thermostat also.
But as I looked around I noticed the heater blower motor was loose on the mount, enough to make the motor twist around so that the squirrel cage fan rubbed against the inside of the blower housing, tearing it loose from the motor shaft and damaging the fan itself.
So my first call was to Westland Sales out in Oregon, but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. And I was right.
A replacement was no longer available, not the first time I’ve heard this on my 20 year old Splendide Washer/Dryer.
A few years ago I had to replace the no-longer-available water pump with one from another make of washer by kluging up a mount for it in a new location with new hoses. But it’s worked for 5 or 6 years with no problems.
So now my Plan B is to check our storage room for my box of Splendide parts. These are parts that I salvaged out of an old 2000 unit. But it’s been so long I don’t know if I pulled the blower motor or not. So I’ll see tomorrow.
But if I don’t have a replacement, my Plan C is to repair the squirrel cage and then create a new mount for it on the motor shaft.
So we’ll see how it goes.
My Alexa has a new response. We have an Echo Dot in the bedroom that controls several devices there, including a fan that’s mounted up by the ceiling that she controls. So when I get up, I say, “Alexa, turn the fan off, please”. And after she does it, she says, “OK”. And I, wanting to be polite to our future robot overlords, always say, “Thank you!”
Now, normally Alexa goes silent at this point, but today she said, “You’re Welcome. And have a great Friday!”
Hopefully Alexa will remember my obeisance when they take over.
July 26, 2021
Planning Our Next-Next Trip . . .
Well, I got our front AC back up and running this afternoon. And it didn’t cost me anything.
This was the Culprit
This is what remains of the wire nut that connecting the black power wire coming from the circuit breaker to Power In on the AC Control Box. The joint apparently got hot enough to melt the wire nut and allow the bare joint to contact the uninsulated ground wire inside the Romex cable that feeds from the breaker box and short everything out.
At first I thought the problem was that the AC was pulling too much current, enough to overheat the connection. But when I hooked things back up temporarily and used my clamp-on ammeter I found the unit pulling the standard ~ 14 amps.
So when I hooked up the new Control Box back in March, either the wire nut I used was defective, or I just didn’t get a good joint when I put it together.
So when I put all back together, I first coated the joints with dielectric grease and used different wire nuts. So we’ll see how it does this time.
While we’re planning our next trip, Christmas time in Branson, MO, we’re also talking about our next-next trip, this time back to Alaska. But not a cruise this time.
We’ve had two Holland America cruises canceled out from underneath us, one in September of 2020 and its replacement, one in May 2021. So this time we’re just going to do it on our own. And no, we’re not RVing up there, we already did that it 2008,
We’re just going to fly up to Fairbanks, probably next May, and spend a couple of weeks just wandering around. We were already planning to kind of do this anyway, combined with our cruise(s). Since our cruise(s) both started from Fairbanks, we were going to fly up a week early and do our own thing for the first week. So now we’ll just do it for both weeks.
Around 10am this morning I ordered something on Amazon and this came up.
First time I’ve seen this. And I thought Next Day was fast.
It’s Always Pool Time at the Morrison’s.
Looking forward to our next visit.
________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
A simple rule of life: if you can be blamed, you’re responsible.
